Deflated Punishment: Why It Doesn't Matter If Brady Did It

Deflategate.  Interesting that the Wells Report came back with a wonderful non-answer answer about the probability that the Patriots, no wait, Tom Brady is culpable for deflating footballs below regulation air pressure prior to the AFC Championship game against The Indianapolis Colts.  But, even with this not so new information that Brady and two underlings are probably guilty of the act, months after the incident, talking heads will still devote hours to drive time radio analysis of one of the more humorous discussions about balls.

In the end, what does it matter?  Brady and Belichick played through and beat the Colts 45-7 with or without underinflated balls.  Brady and Belichick went on to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24.  Brady and Belichick have four championships.  Brady has Giselle.  Brady poops rainbows and cries dollar bills.   WHO CARES?!?!?

I guess Steelers’ fans do.   They get to play New England to kick off the 2015 season.  They get to play it in Foxborough.  They get to play it without their star Running Back, Le'Veon Bell, who was arrested for marijuana possession, with New England’s LeGarrette Blount during preseason.  (LeGarrette Blount is suspended for the game, too, but he gets to sit at home with his Super Bowl ring to keep him company.)   So, add all that together and sprinkle in the spectre of not being able to beat the Patriots during the post season and you get a tonic of vitriol and ire from Pittsburgh.

But, again, it doesn’t matter what happens to Brady and Belichick in light of the report because any punishment is moot.

“He could be fined.”  

So, what?  I’m sure he’ll be broke in a week, no longer able to wipe his tears with $100 bills or cry softly into Giselle’s bosom.

“He could be suspended for the opener.” 

Ooooh, except it’s the opener and not even against a division rival. 

“His legacy could be tarnished.”

I’m sure he’ll wring his hands with all four Super Bowl rings clacking like crazy.

“The Patriots could lose a draft pick.”

A: Kraft and Belichick were found not "probably" guilty.

B: Draft picks do not equate loss of good players… especially when you pick LAST!

If there were to be a punishment for the Patriots for directly affecting the outcome of a game, regardless of how well they would have done without cheating, it would have been for the next game, The Super Bowl.  Seattle almost beat New England, despite Tom Brady.  An interception at the goal line tanked their chances of overcoming the odds and beating the Pats.   And, quite frankly, it would have been a better story had the Patriots beat Seattle without their golden boy at QB.   That would have at least put to rest some of the controversy surrounding this team’s mounting questionable winning strategy.  After all, this is at least the second time the Patriots have been called on the carpet for cheating.  Remember Spygate?  Barely anyone outside of Pittsburgh does.   Spygate resulted in a $250,000 fine and loss of their first round pick… which was 31^st since they lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl.   Surely, they were impacted as they missed out on drafting such greats.  Then again, they could have had Ray Rice in their ranks to compliment Aaron Hernandez.   In the end, they still won their division six out of the next seven years.

Again, my point is, it does nothing for credibility and accountability to suspend Brady the first game of the season or any other punishment.   Look at this perspective.

In 1992, at the age of 17, I had a part time job delivering newspapers.  I made maybe $20 a week delivering 54 papers, six days a week.  My friends and I spent our hard earned money on tickets to a concert.  It would have been my first live concert, ever.   Tickets were a whopping $24.95.   Not sure if that’s the going rate for concerts or the going rate for Def Leppard in 1992.  In any case, it was a week and quarter of pay. 

However, right around Halloween, my friends and I decided to be jackasses and go on a pumpkin smashing and egging tour of the neighborhood.  Well, we managed to egg the one house that everybody egged and they were tired of it.  They chased my friend’s Chevy S-10 until they got the plate and turned us in to the police.   The next weekend, my parents received a call from the police.  My friend had already given all of us up.  I was grounded.   The weekend before the concert and I was grounded.   I pleaded with my parents that I would accept my being grounded but that I had spent $25 of my own money on a concert.  It didn’t matter.  I missed the concert, I was out $25, and I learned a lesson.

Now, how much of a teachable moment would it have been had my parents said, “OK, you did something wrong and you will be punished.  How about a week night in the middle of next January when you have absolutely nothing important or fun going on?”

That’s what suspending Brady is.  It is a hollow action by a hollow commissioner that gets paid for making the owners money, and the owners make money when their top performers are playing in games like the Super Bowl.  Jerseys and ticket sales and concessions and fans with their butts in the seats put money in the pockets of the Kraft’s and that’s what a commissioner does, gets the owners money.  It doesn’t matter what is right, what is moral, or what is a good example for fans.  They don’t care because they’re addicted to the product the NFL is selling.

If you want to make a point suspend Brady for the first game... of the playoffs.

Granted, they can’t be assured a playoff spot, but when you plan on suspending him for a pointless game, anyways, what does it matter if it’s a "maybe" game?  That not only punishes Brady, but it punishes the organization if they fail to win.  Maybe, playing with a suitable handicap is better than a slap on the wrist.  

And just maybe, the real threat of punishment would start to make the rest of the players and teams realize that on Any Given Sunday… they might just be stuck home watching, like I was, while Def Leppard was playing.  I was a little poorer, but I survived.   Now where's my copy of Hysteria?


FOOTNOTE:
I probably won't be watching this season as I didn't last year.  It's not that I don't love the Steelers anymore, it's that I refuse to give any more time of my life to this league and this commissioner.  Goodell may be the most profitable commissioner of them all, but he's corrupt, cares only about the money, and has turned this sport into entertainment, like wrestling.

Someone Throw A Flag At Roger Goodell

Ok, here we are, gearing up for Week Three and Pittsburgh is down to one uninjured quarterback, Charlie Batch. Guess what? As much as I love Batch as a reliable quarterback who can manage a game, he is prone to injury. He’s been injured a lot over the last million years. But he’s still good and he’s our guy. So, how can the Steelers, who are now 2-0 and alone at the top of the AFC North keep winning when we are averaging a lost quarterback a game? It’s called defense. It’s called Troy Polamalu. It’s called Jeff Reed earning his paycheck by being the leading scorer on this team. And who is to blame for all this mess? You thought I was going to say Ben Roethlisberger, didn’t you?

No, I don’t hold Ben accountable for this debacle of a “so far” winning season. I hold Roger Goodell responsible. Why? Because he suspended Ben Roethlisberger for being a douche bag. Read what I just said there. He suspended Ben, not for committing any actual crimes, but for being a putz who let his fame corrupt his character. Whether or not he actually sexually assaulted anyone is not what’s being called out here. I am calling out Goodell because he punished a quarterback, a team, and a city. He punished an entire roster of players, two of which have been hurt doing the job Ben is better at doing. He is punishing an entire city of fans that bleed black and gold. This is a man who wants to have an extended season of 18 games, yet is trying to curb injuries to players and reduce later in life problems resulting in the constant pounding of players on the field.

Now, some will say Ben deserved what happened to him. I might agree with you. But what I don’t agree with is the severity of Ben’s punishment compared against the leniency or overall lack of punishment for players who actually broke the law. Let’s look at Goodell’s greatest hits and misses.

Ben Roethlisberger – Quarterback For The Pittsburgh Steelers
Crime - Twice accused of sexually assaulting women, overall d-baggery “All you bitches take my shot” is second only to “All Your Base Are Belong To Us” as best use of English in the media, allowing his ego and fame to continually put him situations that could result in conduct unbecoming of a NFL Quarterback and human being. Never charged.
Result – Six game suspension (reduced to four by the gregarious Goodell), not allowed to practice, dress or be on the sidelines, have any contact with players, or fans, or women under the 21 and the influence of alcohol. Can’t talk to teammates about football or anything football related. Persona Non Grata in the downtown area.

Braylon Edwards – Wide Receiver For The New York Jets
Crime - Arrested and charged with DWI while already on probation for a bar fight in Cleveland, which he pleaded no contest to and avoided suspension.
Result – Suspended one game, but is allowed to dress and be on the sidelines.

Shaun Rogers – Defensive Lineman For The Cleveland Browns
Crime – Carried a loaded handgun into an airport with the intent to board a plane, which should be a felony, I believe.
Result – No suspension. $400,000 fine.

Vince Young – Quarterback For The Tennessee Titans
Crime – Caught on tape in a fight at a strip club. Well, let’s see Strip Clubs and Fighting are exemplary conduct for a role model quarterback, right?
Result – Nothing. No suspension. No Fine.

Cedric Benson – Running Back For The Cincinnatti Bengals
Crime – Punched a bartender in the face and was charged with misdemeanor assault. This follows a sordid past with authorities as he was arrested twice in 2008, once for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest, and then additionally he was arrested for DWI.
Result – The Bears released him after the second incident in five weeks back in 2009. However, he has yet to receive a suspension in his latest fracas and will probably not receive one although he has shown a pattern of behavior that goes against the conduct policy.

Ronnie Fields – Defensive Lineman For The Denver Broncos
Crime – Arrested for unlawful carrying of a weapon in May of 2010
Result – None yet, but consider that the incident involving Ben came out in March and he was suspended in April. It’s been almost five months and no decision on Ronnie Fields.

Hey Goodell, how many times are you going to look the other way or fail to act after setting this precedence with Ben? Seems like you are not holding up your end of the bargain of holding players accountable for their actions. How many guns have to be involved in incidences? How many people have to be killed in accidents involving drunk driving players? So far, you’ve been lucky, but let’s stop acting all high and mighty, suspending a guy for acting like a dick (no charges filed) and go after some real criminals. Maybe, the tale of Plaxico Burress should be a lesson for all players. The only reason he’s not playing is because he’s still in jail and the only one injured in his arrest was himself. But how many players get a pass or a fine, which is a joke considering their salary, instead of real punishment?

Someone throw a flag. Goodell is offsides!